Acoustic flow measurement optimizes power output at Rochester Gas and Electric, Ginna plant
In most nuclear plants, including Ginna, the feedwater flow is provided by venturi {Delta}P flowmeters. Unfortunately, at some nuclear plants it is known that these meters have a tendency to foul, which causes them to indicate a higher flow than actually exists. In the early 1980s, a performance trend analysis by Rochester Gas and Electric (RG E) indicated a small but significant degradation of power output a few months into each operating cycle following a refueling or maintenance outage. Investigation of plant major components, which included primary and secondary heat balances and main unit testing, led RG E to suspect that both of the feedwater venturi meters were experiencing fouling, adversely affecting the calorimetric calculations and driving the 100% reactor power level downward. To overcome this problem and recover the lost power resulting from the erroneous venturi flow measurement, a leading edge flowmeter (LEFM) acoustic flow measurement system purchased from Westinghouse Electric Corp. was installed in 1986. Operation of the LEFM system soon confirmed the RG E suspicions that venturi fouling was the source of the performance degradation at full-power operation.
- OSTI ID:
- 6851731
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-890604-; CODEN: TANSA; TRN: 90-023437
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (USA), Vol. 59; Conference: Annual meeting of the American Nuclear Society, Atlanta, GA (USA), 4-8 Jun 1989; ISSN 0003-018X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
FEEDWATER
ACOUSTIC MONITORING
GINNA-1 REACTOR
REACTOR MONITORING SYSTEMS
REACTOR OPERATION
OPTIMIZATION
ACCURACY
AVAILABILITY
CAPACITY
EFFICIENCY
FLOW RATE
FLOWMETERS
HEAT TRANSFER
HYDRAULICS
PERFORMANCE
REACTOR FUELING
REACTOR MAINTENANCE
ENERGY TRANSFER
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
FLUID MECHANICS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MAINTENANCE
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MECHANICS
METERS
MONITORING
OPERATION
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POWER REACTORS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
REACTORS
THERMAL REACTORS
WATER
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
220900* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Reactor Safety
210200 - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled